{"id":16286,"date":"2015-06-26T11:15:50","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T19:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=16286"},"modified":"2015-06-26T12:25:31","modified_gmt":"2015-06-26T20:25:31","slug":"adelsons-minions-do-his-bidding-seminoles-lose-patience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/adelsons-minions-do-his-bidding-seminoles-lose-patience\/","title":{"rendered":"Adelson’s minions do his bidding; Seminoles lose patience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two presidential aspirants, Sens. Lindsey Graham<\/strong> (R) and Marco Rubio<\/strong> (R), joined forces with a gaggle of other senators<\/a> in \"Macau<\/a>reintroducing “Restoration of America’s Wire Act,” Sheldon Adelson<\/strong>‘s pet vehicle for keeping his competitors out of Internet<\/strong> gambling. Among those joining Graham were Sens. Dianne Feinstein<\/strong> (D) and Kelly Ayotte<\/strong> (R), giving the bill bipartisan and bicoastal sponsorship. It’s not clear from the language<\/a> if state lotteries would still be allowed to use servers outside their borders but the horsey set still gets a carve-out for bets on the ponies.<\/p>\n

Free-market conservatives are expected to oppose<\/a> the bill, as are Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> and MGM Resorts International<\/strong>. A spokesman for the two companies said,\u00a0\u201cIt is unfortunate that Sen. Graham and Sen. Rubio and several colleagues have chosen to carry Adelson\u2019s water in the U.S. Senate.\u201d Yes, certainly, but when Adelson is dangling the White House<\/strong> in front of ambitious politicians’ eyes, there’s no end to the posturing<\/a>\u00a0they will do.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Adelson has to protect his flanks against The Guardian<\/em>, which is hot on the trail of the Vickers Reports<\/strong>. The documents, according to John L. Smith<\/strong>, “could reveal business links between Las Vegas Sands Corp<\/strong>. and two high-ranking members of Chinese triads.” This sort of allegation has dogged Sands China<\/strong> for years and confirmation would be, at the very least, a major public embarrassment for Adelson. Could Triad-tainted dollars be oiling Adelson’s political machine<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Las Vegas Sands COO Rob Goldstein<\/strong> has already testified that Sands
\n\"Goldstein\"<\/a>China had done business with Wo Hop To Triad<\/strong> leader Cheung Chi Tai<\/strong>. When queried about the matter, Adelson bristled, calling the question “completely inappropriate.” By contrast, a more-forthright Goldstein said,\u00a0\u201cI pushed strongly for termination of the relationship with Cheung. We didn\u2019t want him as a customer in any of our buildings or running junkets.\u201d As Smith notes, Nevada<\/strong> gaming regulators have made themselves scarce while Sands’ dirty linen is dragged through Silver State courtrooms. They dare not bite the hand that feeds them.<\/p>\n

* Florida<\/strong>‘s government having failed miserably to reach a new compact with the Seminole Tribe<\/strong>, the latter is now declaring its revenue-sharing obligations to the state to be void<\/a>. Why? Because of the presence of electronic blackjack and three-card poker at Sunshine State racinos. The state has long argued that electronic blackjack is a slot machine but that’s no longer cutting it with the Seminoles. The tribe has already accused the state of not negotiating in good faith, which could make compact negotiations the province of the federal court system<\/a>, one day before the tribe’s grace period on its current compact expires (although the tribe must also pursue mediation in the August-September period).<\/p>\n

In a similar scenario — and using the same legal reasoning — Magic City Casino<\/strong> installed electronic roulette and craps three years ago. The Seminoles didn’t appeal the matter that time. They just installed the same games.<\/p>\n

* Good news, fellow slackers …<\/p>\n